Crackdown On Drugs Nets 27 Arrests In Apopka

APOPKA — City police have made 27 drug-related arrests since February, when they started a surveillance program on three downtown intersections to chase crack cocaine dealers out of town.

The department also has issued ''numerous traffic citations'' to people who may not be involved in the trafficking but happen to drive through the areas under surveillance, said Police Chief Tom Collins.

Collins said police officers have been instructed to watch for drug dealers as well as traffic violators.

The officers stop and inspect cars and ask drivers for their license and car registrations. The inspections often result in lines of cars waiting for clearance but police officers said the delays only last a few minutes. If officers decide to issue a citation, they ask the driver to pull over to the side of the road.

The citations are for non-moving infractions such as defective car equipment, driving without a license and expired tags, Collins said.

The police chief said he has not received ''a single complaint'' from people who have been stopped or given a citation. He said most residents in the areas call it ''a good idea'' and are happy that the department is trying to curb crack cocaine trafficking.

One of the police officers assigned to the program, Cpl. Sheldon Franklin, said most people don't mind being stopped. However, Franklin said, some people, mostly bystanders, have told officers that ''we shouldn't be there.'' The intersections under surveillance are: 6th Street at Lake Avenue, 8th Street at Central Avenue and 10th Street at Central Avenue.

Most of the 27 arrests were for dealing in and possession of crack cocaine and only a few for possession of marijuana, Collins said. He added some of the cases, however, have been dismissed in court.

The intersections are not observed on a regular basis. Collins said he tries to assign officers at least four times a month at different hours. The officers usually spend one to two hours in the area.

Sometimes, Collins said, the surveillance is started after requests from residents who may see an increase in trafficking.

When the program was announced by Collins last February, representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union contacted by The Orlando Sentinel expressed reservations about the program, saying the police need probable cause to detain cars.

However, Franklin said routine car and traffic inspections are legal.

He said the police also can record the tag number of ''suspicious looking persons'' and radio to the department to see if the driver has a criminal record.

Franklin said he considers suspicious any driver who, for example, turns around to avoid the traffic check.

''We don't search the car. All we do is stop and check,'' Franklin said, adding that a car could be searched with the driver's consent.

In the days he has been assigned, Franklin said, he has stopped from 20 to 50 cars a day and issued from three to 12 citations.

Some of the people receiving citations were residents driving to the store ''a couple of blocks away from their houses'' who didn't feel they needed to carry their licenses, said Franklin. He said some officers give those drivers a warning, but that he usually writes the citation ''simply because the Florida state law requires all drivers to carry their licenses.''